The Newspaper by Doug Holder
The Newspaper
The Long Island Railroad-
all the Dashing Dans
fortresses of print- winged tabloids
and fedoras
the headlines
splayed on the
counter in the bar car--
"Headless man--found in topless Bar!"
And the long scrolls
of newspapers
in the Boston Public Library
felt like
I was reading the Torah.
The morning coffee,
the slap of the rag
on my table,
my glasses--
four eyes are
now part of the
ritual.
At night
I saw the
New York Times
flutter in the wind
an ephemeral bird
flapping toward a street light
to come out of
the dark.
***** Dashing Dan was an emblem on the Long Island railroad phased out in 1966.
My work has appeared in Spoke, Toronto Quarterly, Poetry Bay, Rattle, Constellations and elsewhere. I am the founder of the Ibbetson Street Press and a lecturer of Creative Writing at Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. I have run poetry groups for psychiatric patients at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass. for over 30 years. I direct the Newton Free Library Poetry Series in Newton, Mass. and I am the recipient of the Allen Ginsberg Community Service Award from the Newton Writing and Publishing Center.
Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene http://dougholder.blogspot.com
Doug Holder CV http://dougholderresume.
Ibbetson Street Press http://ibbetsonpress.com
Ibbetson Street Online Bookstore http://lulu.com/ibbetsonpress
Poet to Poet/Writer to Writer http://
Doug Holder's Column in The Somerville Times ( Online and Print) http://www.thesomervilletimes.
The Long Island Railroad-
all the Dashing Dans
fortresses of print- winged tabloids
and fedoras
the headlines
splayed on the
counter in the bar car--
"Headless man--found in topless Bar!"
And the long scrolls
of newspapers
in the Boston Public Library
felt like
I was reading the Torah.
The morning coffee,
the slap of the rag
on my table,
my glasses--
four eyes are
now part of the
ritual.
At night
I saw the
New York Times
flutter in the wind
an ephemeral bird
flapping toward a street light
to come out of
the dark.
***** Dashing Dan was an emblem on the Long Island railroad phased out in 1966.
My work has appeared in Spoke, Toronto Quarterly, Poetry Bay, Rattle, Constellations and elsewhere. I am the founder of the Ibbetson Street Press and a lecturer of Creative Writing at Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. I have run poetry groups for psychiatric patients at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass. for over 30 years. I direct the Newton Free Library Poetry Series in Newton, Mass. and I am the recipient of the Allen Ginsberg Community Service Award from the Newton Writing and Publishing Center.
Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene http://dougholder.blogspot.com
Doug Holder CV http://dougholderresume.
Ibbetson Street Press http://ibbetsonpress.com
Ibbetson Street Online Bookstore http://lulu.com/ibbetsonpress
Poet to Poet/Writer to Writer http://
Doug Holder's Column in The Somerville Times ( Online and Print) http://www.thesomervilletimes.
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